


Ancestors

by orphan_account



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Ancestors go by their hatch names
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-06-06
Updated: 2015-06-07
Packaged: 2018-04-03 04:28:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,876
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4086835
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>My take on the story of the Signless and his crew. Story mainly told from the point of view of the Disciple, and it spans from when the Dolorosa found him on.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

It's so lonely; I don't think I'll get over it. His blood, all of it draining down. I don't know why I was spared. My legs hurt so much, but I can't stop now. People need to know his legacy.

Why is everything so cruel?

~-..-~

She made her way through the caves of the Mother Grub. She had to flee. The others don't get it. Aren't tenders of the brooding caverns supposed to help all grubs? Why is this one any different? Why is  _he_  any different? It sounded like the others were giving chase. If she could just make it to her quarters and out of there then maybe-

There are people blocking her room. She runs, nicking her arm on one of the stalactites and spilling jade blood onto the floor. Not being able to stop, she runs. She runs and runs right out of the caverns and into the desert sun. The poor wriggler squeals out in pain as the rays hit its carapace. Ripping a cloth off of her work dress, she covers the poor squealing thing. Her old hive wasn't too far off, so that's where she headed. Maybe she can grab something there before word is sent out of her escape.

~-..-~

"Hey, Dolorosa?" a weak voice calls out.

"Yes, Kankri?" The Dolorosa responds.

"Could you tell me of how you escaped the brooding caverns again?"

"I told that to you last dawn, silly. Do you want anything for midnight sustenance?"

"No, I was going to get something from Katzen. He likes giving me food, and his lusus is super fluffy!" he exclaims, telling of the outside wonders.

"Have you been going into other trolls' hives like I told you not to?" she inquires of him.

"No, his lusus just goes outside a lot. She likes to keep track of him, a lot."

"Well, just be careful, and don't wander too far. And don't go outside without me young man." The older troll turns back to the counter putting away some things into her bag.

"Talida says someone else was living in this hive before I moved in. They were wondering what my lusus was," he pauses for a second thinking. "Why don't I have a lusus? It seems like ever- allbody I know has some sort of cust- cust- lusus."

"You had it the first time with everybody, and it's custodian, young spurt. You'll get it right next time."

"Well why don't I have one?" Kankri persists.

"It's complicated. I might tell you when you're older," the Dolorosa explains, not wanting to go through this quite yet.

His face contorts into a frustrated and angry expression, "You've always said that and I want to know now. You said 'when I'm older' a long time ago and now I'm older. I want to know why I'm different!" he shouts, raising his voice beyond a reasonable level.

"Quiet down, you'll disturb the neighbors," she hushes him.

"No, I don't care what they think. Why do we have to keep moving so often? Why do you take care of me instead of a lusus? I want to know why I'm so different!" he exclaims, bright red tears starting to roll down his grey cheeks before he starts to bawl. The Dolorosa runs up to him, taking him in her arms and shushing him until he calms down.

"You really want to know?"

He sniffles a bit, rubbing his nose and then his eyes. "Yeah…"

"Well you're going to need to sit down, and you need to promise that you won't tell anyone no matter what. This is a secret that you need to hold onto for dear life."

"Okay," he agrees half-heartedly.

"Kankri, look at me. Do you want to be culled?"

"Culled?"

"Killed by the drones. Do you want to die?"

"No! That's bad," he states, looking up at her with his full attention.

"Then you mustn't tell anyone no matter what, do you understand? If you tell anybody what I'm about to tell you, you and I will both get killed."

Kankri stares her in the eye for a minute, letting the weight of what she said sink in. "I promise I won't tell any troll ever."

"Do you still want to know?"

"…Yes."

"Okay, then let's start from the beginning. You have red blood. You've seen it when you bleed. You are the only one with that blood color. No one else on all of Alternia has that blood color-"

"Really?!" he interrupts.

"Yes, really, but that doesn't mean it's a good thing. It means that you're different and you don't belong in the empire. They think you're inferior. Now you shouldn't think that because it isn't true, you are just as capable as anyone else. The highbloods don't think that though."

"Who are the highbloods?" Kankri inquires, tilting his head to the side.

"They are the trolls whose blood is blue, purple, or even fuchsia. They live longer, there are less of them, and they are stronger physically. They are the ones that 'rule' the troll empire. They get just about anything they want because in society's eyes they are more competent."

"Competent?"

"Better, can do more. The higher your blood the more you're worth, or the better you are. This is what a lot of people think."

"I've never seen anyone with that color of blood. I've only seen people with dark red or brown blood."

"There are so many more than that, and some are rather pretty. In fact, I do not have red or brown blood."

"What color is it? Let me see!" he shouts, getting excited.

"It's jade green. Not a lot of people have it," the Dolorosa explains.

"Can you show me?" he asks, pointing to her arm.

"Sure, but only a little. It hurts," she stands, getting one of her sewing needles and bringing it back to where Kankri stands. She crouches down and pricks the end of her finger; a few drops of jade green blood drip of the flesh wound and onto the floor. Kankri looks up in astonishment.

"Whoa…"

"I know."

"Is that why I don't have a pretty picture either?"

"Pretty picture..? Oh, you mean symbol. Yes, that is why you do not have one. There was no one before you that had such blood, so there was no symbol to pass down to you," the woman explains.

"What's your symbol?" he inquires.

She draws a symbol with three bumps at the top, one at the side, and two hooks at the bottom (the symbol for Virgo).

"Wow."

~-..-~

Both moons were out in the warm night. Kankri was playing with some of the neighbors while the Dolorosa was trimming some bushes in the side lawn ring trying not to be seen. She'd had most of the supplies the two shared packed, as she had for a while. Who knows when they'd have to take up roots and leave.

The two had been at that hive for longer than any other, almost a Perigree to be exact. All the more reason to stay packed according to her. It's nice to stay in one place for a while, though. Running is tiring, and it's quite amiable to be able to sleep without horrendous nightmares.

It was only five sweeps since the Dolorosa had left the brooding caverns for the sake of this one grub. She missed taking care of the adorable wigglers, but she couldn't stand leaving one to die just because he wasn't normal, just because he was bright red. The empire hardwires injustice from a young age. That was, and still is, unjustifiable.

 _Ccccrrrraaack!_ A scream is heard soon after a thud and some rustling. As the Dolorosa looked up, she saw a broken tree limb on the ground with a young troll wailing on top of it. After a moment it registers to her that the injured young troll was none other than Kankri. Within a split second the woman had sprinted across the transportation path and scooped up the poor wailing young one in her arms. There are dribbles of his blood on the tree and scattered all over the ground for everyone to see. The disgrace to society hath been revealed!

 _This was no time for sarcasm_ , she thought to herself. The only thing she cared about was in danger. No, the only  _person_  she cared about was in grave danger if they didn't get out of there quick. She had to act now.

Before the Dolorosa can even think, she had run into the hive with Kankri in her arms, grabbed her packed bag full of supplies, and left out the back. With no plan of where the two were going or when they would stop, they ventured out into the wilderness.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Here we finally meet the fated Disciple of the Signless, but she's not what one would expect.

"Shh, Pounce, be quiet. I hear somefang. Stay here," I tell my custodian before I crouch and swiftly crawl into the brush. I head towards the intruders. No one ever really comes into my territory, and when they do they have to deal we either me or Pounce. He's my ferocious yet snuggly meowbeast lusus that has two pretty mouths with many, many teeth. I can't imagine anything happening to him, especially if a stray cholerbear got to him! I wouldn't be able to live with myself.

I continue to prowl through the woods and soon enough I see the intruders. It's an adult troll and a younger one who looks about my age, probably five sweeps. Old enough to start growing bigger horns. His are still really small. Mine look like Pounce's ears! I keep them in my sight for a bit, then decide to go in for the "kill". I won't actually kill them, I'm only just five sweeps myself. Old enough to know how to write functionally.

I leap out of my hiding spot and pounce on the young one, tackling him to the ground. He lets out a frightened yell as his hands scrape against the brush. The older one shouts and shoves me off, picking up the previously pounced on one and starts to run off. Before she gets anywhere though I grab onto her dress and yank her back. She seems surprised by my strength and is taken aback, yanking her dress away.

"Wait miss. I'm pawsitively sorry for pouncing on him, but I couldn't help but wonder why you're in my neck of the woods," I tell her. She stares at me wide eyes for a bit before I notice the younger troll she has in her arms is bleeding- bright red in fact. My eyes widen too because his arm is all mangled. "Oh my god, he's hurt!" I exclaim, reaching out towards him. She pulls him away from me.

"Don't touch him," she shouts protectively.

"D-Dolorosa, it's okay," he says shakily, trying to sooth her.

"Look, I don't mean any harm. I can help! My hive is only a little ways away. Pounce and I have a lot of medical supplies, more than enough. He obviously needs to rest, I've been injured like that and Pounce wouldn't let me out of my 'coon for a week, and not out of the hive for a month! Please, just let me help," I plead, using my sad young meowbeast ganderbulbs to persuade her.

"Please please please‽" he questions. There's silence for a long second.

"Where's your hive? Does anyone else live nearby?" Dolorosa interrogates.

"I live in the middle of the woods, no one else is around. Just me and pounce!"

"…Okay, we can stay for a little while," she sighs. The younger one jumps for joy and then groans in pain.

"My name's Meulin, what's yours?" I ask.

"I'm Kankri, and that's the Dolorosa. She's really nice. She takes care of me."

"Where's your lusus?" I question as we all start to walk in the direction of my hive.

"Uh… Where's yours?" he asks, avoiding my own inquiry.

"Somewhere around here," I state then lift my hands to my mouth and yell POUNCE at the top of my air sacks. Kankri and the Dolorosa cover their hear ducts, the Dolorosa muttering something. Within a few moments, my mighty white fluffy lusus leaps through the bushes and tackles me to the ground licking my face with both mouths.

"WHOA!" Kankri shouts, startled by the sudden appearance.

"I see where she got it from," the Dolorosa states to him. He giggles.

I try to wiggle out from underneath the huge purrbeast I call a custodian. Kankri is laughing his head off at the ridiculousness. After an excessive amount of struggle I finally get out and explain to Pounce what's going on then ask if Kankri could ride him the rest of the way back. He gives a curt nod and bows to let Kankri get on him. It takes quite the fuss but eventually he's sitting up on the creature and we're heading towards my hive. Eventually we arrive at the cave entrance and I move the boulder that stands in the way. He seems impressed at my strength. I strut into the cave and tell them to wait out there for a moment. They almost looked worried as I leaped into the cavern and through the tunnel to get a torch so they could see. It takes me a minute to locate it and I head back out and into the night. It's during the bright season so it's really easy to see. Too warm in my opinion.

When I come back out of the cave a look of relief floods the Dolorosa's face. I light the torch and show them inside of the cave. It takes a bit to actually get inside but when we do I light some of the gas lanterns and point everything out to the Dolorosa. Her eyes widen when she sees all of the food. I take Kankri over to where all the medical supplies are kept and make him lay his arm out on the table. Grabbing out a few splints, I reset his forearm and place the splints around it to keep it in place. I use old bandages of mine that I've washed to fix it. To make it so if someone does stop by they won't get suspicious, I bite the tip of my left index finger and soak the bandages with my blood a bit. Now people will think he has olive green blood just like me!

"Hey, why are you doing that?" he questions incredulously.

"So people won't be wondering what your blood is."

"But I don't have that color blood."

"Well a lot of people don't like bright red blood. Pounce was telling me this the other night. I don't know why they wouldn't though. I think it is soooooooo purrety!" I exclaim, smiling a big cleft lip grin at him. Pounce thought it was cute and that's why he picked me.

"I-It's not that pretty," he blushes red. I just giggle at him.

"It's purrfect," I conclude, starting to put away my medical supplies. He just sits there with a little smile on his face as I walk out of the block. A pleasant smell assaults my nose as I step out into the nutrition block. As I look around I see the Dolorosa placing some of my meat from the hunt near the fire. "Hey, what are you doing‽"

"I am cooking some of this meat you have stored up," she calmly states.

"What's cooking?"

"Heating it up so you don't get sick when you eat it."

"I've nefur gotten sick."

"You eat it raw‽"

"Of course I do, there's no other way to do it that I know."

"Well just try it. Where are your spices?"

"What are those?"

"They make things taste better."

"Nofang tastes better than raw meat."

She doesn't respond. I win.

I walk into the other room to see Kankri digging through my art supplies. I let out a loud hiss. "Hey! That's mine!" I shout. He looks up at me wide eyed with a worried face. He puts up his one good hand and apologizes profusely. I quickly rush over and start putting everything back where it was beforehand. I had it all organized by order of color and my paintbrushes by size and it takes me almost five minutes to put it all back. Kankri kept saying he was sorry. "Will you shut up?" I ask him, trying to stay calm. "I get you're sorry but you're super annoying when you do that."

He falls silent, then looks down out of shame and starts crying quietly. "Nooooooooooo, don't cry, Kankri, I didn't mean it, okay?" I run up and hug him. He hugs me back with his one good arm and buries his face into my shoulder getting it all wet. "Kankri, I'm sorry…"

He sniffles a bit before responding, "Do you still think I'm pretty…?"

I giggle a bit saying, "yes I still think you're pretty, Kankritter."

"K-Kankritter?" he sputters. Even though I can't see his face (we're hugging, remember?) I still know his face is flushed.

"Yeah, I added a cat pun to your name!" I exclaim. Oh boy do I love cat puns.

"Okay…" he trails off and I keep giggling.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> She's quite the interesting character to write. She mellows out later on, but of course we're dealing with the obstinate, angsty, pre-teen version of her.

**Author's Note:**

> I'll update sporadically. I already have the first four chapters done but I only am able to write when I'm inspired so yeah. Commenting gives me inspiration.


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